Shri Ram Swaroop Memorial University booked on cheating, forgery charges

Lucknow, Sep 3 (PTI) Shri Ram Swaroop Memorial University in Barabanki was on Wednesday booked on charges of cheating and forgery for allegedly running an unrecognised law course for the last three years, an official said.

An FIR was registered at the Barabanki city police station following a complaint from the Uttar Pradesh Higher Education Commission, which is the nodal agency under the Uttar Pradesh Private Universities Act, 2019.

According to the complaint lodged by Dinesh Kumar, Additional Secretary, Uttar Pradesh Higher Education Commission, the university admitted students to its law programme during the academic sessions 2023-24 and 2024-25 and even conducted examinations despite not having approval from the competent authority.

For the 2025-26 session too, registrations for the law course were reportedly underway.

The FIR was lodged under Sections 318 (4) (cheating), 338 (forgery of a valuable security), 336 (3) (forgery), and 340 (using forged documents or electronic records as genuine) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the official said.

The commission said that the act amounted to playing with the future of students and was in violation of the Private Universities Act, 2019, and related regulations.

The FIR follows an inquiry report submitted by the Ayodhya divisional commissioner after protests by student groups, including the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), against the university on September 1.

"Strict legal action has been recommended against the university management," Dinesh Kumar said in the complaint.

A number of students, including ABVP workers, were injured in lathicharge by the police during the protest, drawing sharp reaction from Opposition parties as well as the BJP. PTI ABN ABN RUK RUK